A Rat in an evil day made acquaintance with a Frog, and they set off on their travels together. The Frog, on pretense¹ of great affection, and of keeping his companion out of harm's way, tied the Rat's foot to his own hind-leg, and thus they proceeded for some distance by land. Presently they came to some water, and the Frog, bidding the Rat have good courage, began to swim across. They had scarcely, however, arrived midway, when the Frog took a sudden plunge² to the bottom, dragging the unfortunate Rat after him. But the struggling and floundering of the Rat made so great a commotion³ in the water that it attracted the attention of a Kite, who, pouncing⁴ down and bearing off the Rat, carried away the Frog at the same time in his train.

Inconsiderate and ill-matched alliances generally end in ruin; and the man who compasses the destruction of his neighbor, is often caught in his own snare⁵.